Workshops
Workshops
Systematic Investing – A live Demo
Interactive workshop going under the hood of a leading systematic manager.
Portfolio Manager Tim Ellerton will present a live demonstration of Acadian’s stock selection model. Through this transparent demonstration, he will illustrate how fundamentals drive decision-making and how Acadian makes use of cutting edge data techniques such as natural language processing. The workshop will conclude with a review of portfolios and their performance drivers.
Workshop Objective: Gain insight into how systematic investing works.
Company Profile: Established in 1986, Acadian is recognized as a pioneer in the field of systematic investing. We have been at the forefront of systematic research, signal development, and portfolio construction for over 35 years.
As of March 31, 2025 we managed $122bn of assets for institutional investors worldwide, across equity, credit, and alternative strategies.
Speakers
Tim Ellerton
Senior Portfolio Manager
Tim joined Acadian in 2022 and is a Portfolio Manager on the Equity Team and is based out of Acadian Asset Management (U.K.) Limited. Previously, he led the research and development of systematic equity strategies at Nomura. Prior to that, Tim worked in a similar capacity at Deutsche Bank, where he focused on quantitative equity and asset allocation products for large institutional asset owners. He also worked as a portfolio manager within the quantitative GTAA team at Morgan Stanley Investment Management. Tim received an M.Sc. in mathematical trading & finance from the Bayes Business School at City University and a B.A. in law & society from the University of Exeter. Tim is a CFA charterholder and member of the CFA Society U.K.
Representatives
Oliver Close
Director, Relationship Management
Oliver joined Acadian Asset Management (U.K.) Limited in 2015 and is the Director of Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Client Service, overseeing client service efforts across Europe and South Africa and personally servicing some of Acadian’s largest European and South African investors and consultants. Further, as a leader on Acadian’s Responsible Investing Committee, Oliver also advances Acadian’s ESG efforts from the client and consultant side. Prior to this role, he was Director of Acadian’s UCITS Funds. Before joining Acadian, he worked in institutional relationship management with Russell Investments Limited, focusing on some of the firm’s largest institutional clients. Oliver earned a B.A. (Honours) in economics from the University of Leicester. He is CFA charterholder, member of the CFA Society United Kingdom and holder of CFA U.K.’s Investment Management Certificate (IMC).
The Importance of Macro & Flexibility
The economic and political environment have been key determinants of equity performance over recent years, and uncertainty across these factors continues to drive volatility. For over 30 years, Fisher Investments has believed in the power of macro-economic conditions over equity pricing. Additionally, we believe equity markets are relatively efficient in reflecting consensus expectations for various economic and political factors. These consensus expectations often prove too extreme, providing skilled and experienced investors with opportunities to identify categories of stocks with underappreciated tailwinds. We believe focusing stock selection within categories of equities possessing macro-economic tailwinds enhances the probability of generating consistent returns.
Workshop Objective:
• Review recent trends in regional, sector and style performance and understand what’s driven them
• Understand why performance consistency can be improved by implementing a flexible approach
• Gain further insight into the biggest macro-economic risks and opportunities over the next 12-18 months
Company Profile: Fisher Investments (FI) is a leading investment manager Headquartered in the United States with over $331 billion USD in AUM (as of 30 June 2025). FI and its subsidiaries serve corporate and public pension funds, sovereigns, foundations, endowments, insurers, financial intermediaries, and high-net-worth individuals. Fisher Investments Institutional Group focuses on running Global, Emerging Market & US Equity strategies for institutional investors. FI combines top-down macro-economic analysis with bottom-up fundamental analysis across all strategies, and believes flexibility is critical in delivering consistent returns.
Speakers
Christo Barker
Fisher Investments Vice President – Research
o Christo has worked at Fisher Investment since 2006 and currently serves as Vice President of Research. He is responsible for research created for the Investment Policy Committee and other external publications. Christo commonly presents to institutional and retail audiences across the US, Europe and Asia-Pacific regions. Prior to his current role, he has numerous positions across the research department including, Securities Analyst, Capital Markets Analyst, Portfolio Engineer, and Capital Markets Analyst Team Lead, working closely with the Investment Policy Committee throughout.
Representatives
Seth Horowitz
Fisher Investments Europe Institutional Director
Mike King
Fisher Investments Europe Institutional Director
Meeting the need with returns, diversification and on-the-ground impact: Private Credit Opportunities in Africa
African private credit is an significantly under-penetrated representing a $350-400 billion estimate market gap. Over the last 15 years global banks have exited and regional banks retrenched, leaving significant funding needs for SME’s, larger corporates and sovereign borrowers. Despite the growth in private credit globally, less than 0.3% flows to Africa, despite the immense potential of the continent. The challenge for investors is finding the right partner who is able to consistently originate, structure, manage risk and monitor transactions successfully. We aim to demonstrate how over the last decade we have done just this, investing across Africa to unleash its potential, delivering high risk-adjusted returns, portfolio diversification and significant impact across private credit as an asset class.
Workshop Objective: Attendees will learn about the significant need for private credit in Africa, how best investors can meet this need and what it takes to succeed in these markets.
Company Profile: Gemcorp Capital was established in 2014 and is a Private Credit-focused Investment Manager with ca. $1b AuM, with headquarters in London, UK. The firm’s regional focus has been on global Emerging Markets, but with a majority deployment exposure to Sub-Saharan Africa over the past decade. The firm has a key regional office in Angola, as well as satellite African presence in South Africa, Kenya and the DRC. While Private Credit has formed the backbone of Gemcorp’s strategies, it has retained flexibility to invest across the capital structure. Leading with an ESG and impactful lens (Gemcorp is a UN PRI Signatory), key investment themes includes Renewables, Financial Services, Connectivity, Mining and Critical Minerals, Commodities, Infrastructure and Natural Resources.
Speakers
Viloshan Govender
Portfolio Manager
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Viloshan is a member of the Investments and Structuring team responsible for the execution of private credit transactions. Prior to joining Gemcorp, Viloshan was part of the Equity and Mezzanine Financing team at Standard Bank, responsible for East and Southern African transactions. Prior to that, he worked in the Leveraged Finance team at Barclays Africa based in Johannesburg. Viloshan is a qualified Chartered Accountant and holds a BAcc from the University of Witwatersrand and is a CFA level III candidate. He has 11 years of EM experience and has been at Gemcorp since 2021.
Representatives
Selim Basak
Co-Founder & Head of Origination
Giles Headley
IR & Product Manager
Managing multi asset portfolios in an inflationary world
David revisits his thematic approach to investing and examines three disruptive forces reshaping global markets. He explores how economic nationalism and tariffs are altering trade and competition, why the debt-based monetary system forces perpetual refinancing in bond markets, and how equities have shifted from fundamentals toward policy-driven pricing and trader dominance. These dynamics raise pressing questions about what really drives asset values today. Set against the challenges of managing multi-asset portfolios in an inflationary world, the discussion highlights how such forces may redefine both risks and opportunities for investors across global markets.
Workshop Objective: Challenge conventional wisdom by exploring three disruptive themes transforming trade, debt, and equity dynamics, and consider their implications for managing multi-asset portfolios amid today’s inflationary investment environment.
Company Profile: Premier Miton is a genuinely active investment manager offering a range of funds and investment trusts, as well as a portfolio management service, covering equity, fixed income, multi asset and absolute return investment strategies.
Our clients’ investments with us are actively managed by our different specialist investment teams, who are empowered to employ their own proven and distinctive investment approaches; with the aim of generating good investment outcomes. In total we are responsible for $14.4bn of client assets under management (as of 30 June 2025).
Speakers
David Jane
Fund Manager
David Jane joined Premier Miton in June 2014. He founded Darwin Investment Managers in September 2010 and prior to that he was Head of Equities Investments at M&G. David joined M&G in December 2000 as a Fund Manager in the global specialist equity team before becoming Head of Equities investments. Whilst there he was portfolio manager of the M&G Managed Fund and the M&G Cautious Multi Asset Fund, which he launched in February 2007 and grew to over £300 million during his tenure. Prior to M&G, David was the Head of Global Financials Research at AXA Investment Management and before that he was at Newton Investment Management as Director of Global Financials Research. He also served as Non-Executive Director of M&G High Income Investment Trust plc from October 2002 to July 2010.
Representatives
Jonathan Willcocks
Global Head of Distribution
Premier Miton is a genuinely active investment manager offering a range of funds and investment trusts, as well as a portfolio management service, covering equity, fixed income, multi asset and absolute return investment strategies. Our clients’ investments with us are actively managed by our different specialist investment teams, who are empowered to employ their own proven and distinctive investment approaches; with the aim of generating good investment outcomes. In total we are responsible for $14.4bn of client assets under management (as of 30 June 2025).
Joe O’Donnell
Sales Director (South Africa)
Melanie Verwoerd
Melanie Verwoerd is a top rated political analyst and media personality from Cape Town, South Africa. She is highly sought after for her knowledge of political developments and current affairs in South- and southern Africa.
Melanie was born into an Afrikaner family and grew up during the height of Apartheid in South Africa. At the age of twenty she married Wilhelm Verwoerd, the grandson of the former Apartheid Prime Minister HF Verwoerd, generally regarded as the architect of Apartheid. In 1990, after a brief spell at Oxford in the UK and following the unbanning of the ANC, she and her then husband returned to South Africa.
Shortly after their return Melanie met with Nelson Mandela, who encouraged her to “use her surname and voice for the bigger good”. She stunned many by joining the ANC. Her political involvement also led to her being ostracized by her community and numerous death threats from the far-right Afrikaner movements. During the first democratic elections in 1994, Melanie was elected as a Member of Parliament for the ANC under the presidency of Nelson Mandela. At the age of 27 she was the youngest female MP in the history of the South African parliament. During her time in parliament she worked closely with amongst others Nelson Mandela and participated in the writing of the South African Constitution. She was re-elected in 1999 and in 2001 was appointed as South African Ambassador to Ireland.
During her time as Ambassador exports from South Africa to Ireland increased with 60%, FDI from Ireland increased sevenfold and tourism from Ireland to South Africa with 135%. There was also a huge increase in South African wine imports. After her term of office ended in 2005 she was appointed as the Executive Director of UNICEF Ireland, a position she held until 2011.
Between 2005 and 2007 Melanie presented Spectrum, a weekly radio show on Rté (the national broadcaster in Ireland). The programme was nominated for the best short interview in Ireland at the PPI awards and best multi-cultural show in Ireland at the MAMA awards. She also presented a series on feminism called What happened to the F-word? for Rté.
Melanie wrote regular columns on current affairs for the Daily Mail in Ireland during that time.
Since her return to South Africa in 2013, she advises companies (both domestically and internationally) on political developments in South Africa and Africa. She does regular roadshows for asset management companies and other financial institutions.